Crane Bar fined $5280 for grubby kitchen
The Crane Bar, the prestigious Potts Point late night bar, restaurant and music venue run by Sydney model and John Ibrahim's girlfriend Sarah Budge, has been fined thousands of dollars after City of Sydney health inspectors found it was lacking in basic food hygiene.
The inspectors had raised concerns about grime and food debris in the kitchen over the past 14 months.
The inspectors had found an accumulation of grease, food debris, dirt and other unidentified matter on the floor, walls, cooking equipment and fixtures.
“A number of fixtures, fittings and equipment were in an unsanitary condition and required deep cleaning, including the fridge and freezer, benches and shelving, cooking appliances, display fridges, all food preparation surfaces and all sinks, basins and taps,” a City of Sydney spokeswoman told the Daily Telegraph.
The venue was slapped with fines totalling $5280.
And it has a record. City of Sydney health inspectors had revisited and fined the bar a number of times.
Four months before Ms Budge threw a lavish enchanted garden-themed third birthday bash at the venue formerly occupied by the Bayswater Brasserie for almost three decades, it had been fined $1760 by City of Sydney.
Inspectors had found the premises had not been maintained to the required standard of cleanliness. And the fixtures, fittings and equipment had not been maintained to the required standard of cleanliness.
That hadn’t stopped the venue attracting a crowd. Reality TV stars, musicians and fashion luminaries alike tuned up at the birthday party. The guest list included The Bachelor’s Lana Jeans-Fellows and Lisa Hyde, singer Casey Burgess, Channel V host Danny Clayton and ex-partner of One Direction’s Niall Horan, model Melissa Whitelaw.
According to the City of Sydney, the problems had been rectified when a further inspection was carried out last July.
The place earned itself a spot on the NSW Food Authority’s Name and Shame register.
by Leon Gettler, January 20th 2016
